Let the wild rumpus start!

 So last weekend I attended my first Wild Rumpus, which was so much fun. Every year, Athens holds this Mardi Gras-style event, where locals show up in their best costumes and parade down the streets. The parade is named after the lines in the children's storybook "Where the Wild Things Are" and there's even a Max to lead the procession. Stores and bars are open late, and with UGA winning the Florida game, the night was even more raucous. 

I didn't dress up in costume (I wasn't sure what to expect, and it was going to be chilly!) but I did go with my school friends Steph and Matt and we had a fun time watching everyone holler and dance through the streets. I wasn't able to get photos of everything, but some of my favorite costumes included  Suzy and Sam from "Moonrise Kingdom"; a papier-mache Alice Cooper; and a lab skeleton pushing itself in a wheelchair. 

Stories wanting to be heard

I've been exploring with my new camera around my part of town, especially at the flea market. I've visited often enough that some of the unclaimed knickknacks have become like tiny landmarks that I try to spot every time I visit (especially the wedding cake topper). It's sad to think that some of these items have outlived their first owners. I try to give these items a little dignity with my photography,and just wonder to myself what stories they have to tell. 

 

 

Pumpkinhead

 

When Jeremiah was in town last week, we went to visit Washington Farms so I could continue my annual tradition of finding the tiniest, cutest pumpkin. We actually visited the farm two years ago and had a lot of fun wandering through the corn maze and the various games set up through the property. While we didn't do any of the games or the maze this time, we did enjoy the scenic drive through Watkinsville.

Are you tired of this skirt yet? I'm convinced that this maroon is the best color ever.

credits - skirt, flats: talbots | blouse: arizona jeans co., thrifted. 

Tales from the Crypt

I have a love/hate (mostly love) relationship with October. I always look forward to this time of year because of the candy, and the multiple airings of "Hocus Pocus" on basic cable, and being able to replace the 'o's in October with tiny little pumpkins, just like I did in elementary school, except with more embarrassment that I haven't discarded that childish handwriting habit yet. The only downside to the month, though, is that I am scared of horror movies, especially ones that feature zombies and Nosferatu (not all vampires, just Nosferatu), and just about everything in October reminds me of all these things. Add to the fact that I live within a stone's throw of a cemetery and this fear intensifies. 

But I love campy things, like "Buffy" and "Rocky Horror," which is why I couldn't say no to these comic books when I found them at a garage sale for a few dollars. I don't really consider myself a huge science fiction/fantasy fan, but lately I've been acquiring secondhand copies of Neil Gaiman's works, and Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" because I once read an R.L. Stine interview where he mentioned that book inspired him to write, so I had to check it out. So maybe I am more of a fantasy fan than I originally thought. Anyway, the comic books -- I found them at a garage sale for a dollar each. They're 1990s reprints of old 1950s comics, and the illustrations are just gloriously colorful, creepy and campy -- space aliens with Betty Page lookalikes, etc. I'm tempted to take some of the illustrations out and frame them, but I haven't decided if I want to rip them apart for that kind of project. 

One of the things that bothers me about the comics is how the female characters are portrayed. Many of them are either vixens who tempt/manipulate the male characters and deserve a comeuppance (usually death or betrayal), or are victims who have no control over their fate. Of course, this isn't surprising, considering the original demographic for these comics were 1950s male college students, but it is disappointing to see every other female character die.

Still, the illustrations are vivid and grotesque, and just owning the comic books makes me uncomfortably happy. Kind of like October.

Meet me on Broad Street

 

Last week Jeremiah came to visit me in Athens! We've been living apart for about a month at a time since he moved away for work — enough time to establish our own routines in living alone — that it was so nice to see him and go back to our usual haunts. Namely, eating pizza downtown. He was kind enough to snap some outfit photos for me by my favorite red wall. He's usually very camera-shy, but he let me take some photos of him too.

School is good! I'm doing some freelance projects this week, but I'm trying to get back into a normal schedule with blogging and keeping track of outfits. Since I got this skirt a couple weeks ago, I think I've worn it an average of three times a week. It's the perfect color for fall, and I'm loving it with different shades of green.

credits - blouse: gap | skirt, shoes: talbots outlet | bag: fossil, thrifted | bracelet: aloha stadium, hawaii.

The third year in pictures

This blog is now a toddler! I can't believe I've been blogging here for three years now. It seems like it wasn't that long ago my sister and I were starting this blog to share our daily outfit photos. Though this blog has evolved a little past that as a platform for my photography, I'm really glad to be involved in such a vibrant, passionate community of bloggers.

I got a little emotional putting together this recap of photos. So much has happened this year for me personally — from finishing up my first year of graduate school, starting a few internships, traveling to the Caribbean during the holidays, to helping Jeremiah move up to NYC. These photos aren't in order, but they are what I consider my favorite photos of the year — a good mix of style, landscape and still-life photos. Hope you enjoy — and thank you for reading here. I'm excited for what the next year will bring!

 

 

Second spring

I've been so awkward with photos lately. I'm still adjusting to the new camera, and it's taking some getting used to. I've been writing this blog for almost three years now, and after a point, I've developed a kind of friendship with my cameras — to the point of writing odes to them when they die. And if you do any photography, you almost have to develop a relationship with your equipment when you're relying on their settings, doing a little song-and-dance of knowing where to stand, what height works best, all of that. So right now all of my photos feel somewhat experimental, if that makes sense. I'm still learning! I've been in a critical funk lately, and I think grad school has done that to me a bit, where it's difficult to get out of an analytical mode and feel sure of the work you do. This creeps into some of my hobbies too. I'm working on a "Mad Men" spec script for my screenwriting class and I hate every line I come up with for Pete Campbell. 

Anyways, about the photos. It hasn't quite become autumn here yet, and I am eagerly anticipating when the leaves turn into vibrant reds, yellows and oranges. It's part of the reason I decided to spring for a new camera this semester — I didn't want to miss north Georgia's foliage, especially since this will probably be my last autumn in the South for a while. In the meantime, I've started wearing more browns and reds,  just waiting for the season to change, too. 

credits - sweater: talbots | dress: nine and co. | moccasins: minnetonka.